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France to indict 2 in fatal hit-and-run accident in Israel

(JTA) — French prosecutors said they will indict two Jewish Frenchmen suspected in a fatal hit-and-run accident in Israel.

French officials delivered the news to the former boyfriend of Lee Zeitouni, a fitness instructor who died after a black SUV struck her in Tel Aviv in 2011 and drove off, Israel’s Army Radio reported.

Israeli police believe Claude Isaac Khayat and Eric Roubi were in the car that struck Zeitouni. They are believed to have flown back to France shortly after the accident to avoid standing trial.

Israel has requested they be extradited, but the request was denied because under French law, French citizens may only be extradited to European Union member states.

Khayat and Roubi have denied the allegations, but Roee Peled, who was Zeitouni’s boyfriend, has presented an audio recording in which Khayat allegedly admitted to the killing.

“From the very first day until those two are in prison, we have pursued the same path with the same determination and perseverance, even if it was going to take us 10 years,” Peled told Army Radio on Thursday.

The indictment will be for manslaughter, withholding assistance to a person in danger and negligence, Peled said.

If convicted, the two men face up to 10 years in jail, according to Army Radio.